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This is hilarious. Now go to the link and check out the logo. Now, the logo depicting the two bottom teeth are slightly separated allowing this innovative mechanism to actually spin…although we could start picking apart pitch of the teeth on the large gear and how they are unevenly spaced, etc…:)

So what makes people innovative? What causes them to invent new ideas? If you believe what Plato said in 400 BC: Necessity, is the mother of invention.

So where does necessity or need come from. In the early days of the United States of America, the need to be innovative came from a bunch of people who were trying to escape government control in other countries. Today in America need comes from people wanting to create wealth, health and security.

And what kinds of things eliminate need? Seems to me the more government we have the less needs we have.
Do the math; more government = less necessity. Less necessity = less innovation.

Jim–today innovators are trying to escape the same thing–gov’t control, but within our own country. Look at how many ingenious ideas and gadgets are available to those wishing to become self-sufficient and live “off the grid.”

Just to clear a few things up. First, ther is no Department of Innovation. It’s simply the title of the blog, meant to be ironic. This logo was produced for Smithsonian.com, the website of Smithsonian Magazine, not Smithsonian.org, the website of the Smithsonian Institution. It was created by a staffer for Smithsonian Magazine–the government had nothing to do with it. We definitely could have done a better job of executing the first version, but to suggest that this was the result of government ineptitude isn’t accurate.

The status of the Department of Innovation – or lack of it – is duly noted and I appreciate the clarification.

I am having a hard time, however, with the distinction you are trying to draw regarding responsibility. The Smithsonian Magazine is the official publication of the Smithsonian Institution, and Smithsonian.com is the magazine’s web site. The owner of the site is the Smithsonian Institution, and they live on close to $800 million tax payer dollars a year. A staffer for Smithsonian Magazine is paid with government/tax payer dollars. How can you possibly characterize this as anything other than federal government work?

To clarify again, Smithsonian.com is the website of the segment of the Smithsonian that generates revenue, whether through sales in the museum gift shops or advertising in the magazine or on the website. Hence, the .com, rather than .org.